Journal of Luminescence 190 (2017) 207–214

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Journal of Luminescence
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jlumin

Synthesis and physical characterization of Ag nanoparticles and their MARK

interaction with Fe
Paula Rodríguez-Santanaa, Ana Isabel Jiménez-Abizandaa, Alberto Hernández-Creusb,
⁎
Francisco Jiménez-Morenoa,
a
Departamento de Química, Unidad Departamental de Química Analítica, Facultad de Ciencias. Sección de Química, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Avenida Astrofísico
Francisco Sánchez, s/n. 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain
b
Departamento de Química, Unidad Departamental de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección de Química, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Avenida Astrofísico
Francisco Sánchez, s/n. 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Islas Canarias, Spain

A B S T R A C T

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) present unique physical and chemical properties such as chemical stability, huge
superficial area and excellent optical properties, thus justifying the impact and variety of their applications: in
material science, in electrochemistry, in electronic devices, as biological or chemical sensors, and in catalysis.
Given the fact that there is a limited number of studies on synthesis of AgNPs compared with other
nanomaterials, this article proposes a simple methodology for synthesizing AgNPs involving the wet chemical
reduction of silver nitrate with gallic acid as a reduction/capping reagent. The reaction is carried out in absence
or in presence of hydrogen peroxide; and the formation of AgNPs is monitored by UV–vis and fluorescence
spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelec-
tron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for further characterization. Two main types of nanoparticles/nanodiscs were
clearly identified in absence and in presence of hydrogen peroxide, respectively. Thus, AFM revealed the
formation of AgNPs of 18.15 ± 1.95 nm in diameter and of 2.21 ± 0.35 nm high or of 9.16 ± 1.28 nm in
diameter and of 1.57 ± 0.17 nm high. The STM technique revealed that average particle size was
4.59 ± 0.61 nm with hydrogen peroxide and 3.84 ± 0.66 nm without it. Therefore, the nanoparticle size
obtained by AFM was strongly influenced by the capping thickness. The reduction in nanoparticle size was
accompanied by increased uniformity and reproducibility. The fluorescence of the AgNPs was used to determine
traces of iron in tap water and bottled water via an induced fluorescence quenching mechanism, thus aiding in
establishing an analytical method.

1. Introduction volume ratio, quantum confinement of electronic movement in semi-

Nanotechnology has been one of the most important research trends
in many fields of science in recent decades. The so-called “nanoparti-
cles” (NPs), which are typically 1–100 nm in size, exhibit marked
differences in physical, chemical and biological properties from bulk
materials. Thus, they possess unique optical, electrical, catalytic,
thermal and magnetic properties, together with antibacterial activity
given their morphology and small size [1]. In recent years, considerable
efforts have been shifted to develop new types of metal nanoparticles
(MNPs), especially from noble metals such as gold (AuNPs), silver
(AgNPs), and platinum (PtNPs). MNPs present the following advantages
over other nanomaterials: higher stability, conductivity, and biocom-
patibility; and lower toxicity [2,3].
The unique properties of MNPs arise from their high surface to
conductor nanoparticles, and the surface plasmon resonance of some
types of metal particles [3,4]. Furthermore, MNPs exhibit a high mass
transfer rate. Because the properties of MNPs depend strongly on their
dimensions, their synthesis and procedures of preparation are designed
to provide particles with appropriate size-dependent physico–chemical
properties [2,5,6].
MNPs can be prepared by using a variety of physical, chemical and
biological methods [5]. According to Reddy et al. [7], the physical
methods are limited by their inability to control particle size on the
nanometric scale, whereas the chemical and biological methods provide
high performance, good reproducibility and stability. Direct chemical
reduction is the most widely used choice given its high yield, and
relatively simple set-up and procedure [8].
AgNPs are usually synthesized by using the methods of Lee-Meisel

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: fjimenez@ull.edu.es (F. Jiménez-Moreno).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2017.05.052
Received 31 May 2016; Received in revised form 17 May 2017; Accepted 20 May 2017
Available online 22 May 2017
0022-2313/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.